1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to shifting attention effectively.
2. Description of Related Art
Early display systems were of limited size and resolution. Thus, early display systems fit easily within the focus of attention. Later display systems, added overlapping windows to augment the limited bandwidth of the focus of attention based communication channel. However, these conventional methods of displaying additional information in overlapping windows were limited by the small physical size of the display systems. Emerging windowing models were then affected by the overlap of the focus of attention and the small display size. Moreover, current conventional windowing models do not have a mechanism and/or model to effectively manage access to the focus of attention. Conventional windowing models do not differentiate between display events presented at the focus of attention, at the periphery of attention, and outside of the visual field. Although conventional overlapping windows and other attention re-focusing user interface elements were developed to augment the limited bandwidth of the focus of attention based communication channel, conventional user interface elements merely serve to distract attention and/or force a re-focusing of attention based on a system determination of relevance. Thus, these conventional user interface elements do not shift attention effectively.
Modern displays such as wideband display systems may include portions of the display space that extend into the periphery of attention. Since conventional windowing models do not manage the focus of attention, modern display systems incorporating these conventional models also lack an appropriate model for managing display space outside of the focus of attention.
Information displayed at the periphery of attention may be sampled or browsed using quick, 50-200 milliseconds, saccadic eye movements. Information displayed just beyond the visual field may be sampled or browsed with quick, 300-600 millisecond, head and eye movements. However, conventional windowing models do not integrate the information provided by peripheral display events since no context is provided to inform the user of the relative importance. Moreover, when the system displays information in the middle of the user work area, cognitive thrashing is induced as the user is forced to attend to tasks based on system determinations of importance.